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Whole30 Whole Roast Chicken {w/Vegetables & Cauliflower Puree}

If you’ve been following my posts lately, you’ve likely seen I’ve been doing a Whole30. I can’t believe I’m already on day 24! How did that happen? I didn’t even think I’d get to day 4, and here I am, twenty days past that. Whoa. (Read more about Whole30HERE!) It really hasn’t been too tough, to my surprise… thanks to ghee. Ghee and avocados. They’re part of nearly every meal, and thanks to them, I’ve been happily full and crafting up a storm of tasty goodies all month long. I’ve actually been feeling really inspired creatively- have been finding new ways to create delicious din dins without any dairy or grains or any of that inflammatory stuff I typically love (I’m a cheese-fiend, big time). Tonight’s dinner was no exception… this meal was tasty tasty, and has no dairy or grains or any of that whatsoever. 🙂

Making a whole roast chicken is actually rather simple, though many seem to shy away from it. Just season it, add a few aromatics inside the cavity, and roast it for just over an hour. I used to think it was a huge complicated process- trussing, basting, blablabla. Nope, not complicated at all. In fact, I recently discovered that the best roast chickens are the ones that are fidgeted with the least. Once that thing is in the oven, no touching. None. Just let it do its thing and it’ll come out a moist plump piece of perfection.

As for the rub, you don’t have to put any extra fats (oils, butters, ghee, etc) on the skin if you don’t feel the need, though I’m partial to ghee on everything these days. You do however need some salt and pepper on that bird; chicken likes flavor. I keep things simple… some olive oil, ghee, salt, pepper, and paprika. For the inside- the aromatics- some lemon, thyme, rosemary, and garlic. That’s it really. I roasted this one with some veggies, which braised and caramelized right in the drippings from the bird… oh me, oh my, yum. Just for the sake of having some mashed tater-type thing alongside it all, I whipped up some pureed cauliflower to go with. It’s simple, creamy, and perfect with this combo of flavors (not to mention healthy… why not add some cruciferous veggies into the mix!?).

Once done, it feels like a deliciously light Thanksgiving-style feast, but a healthy one that makes the body feel good. I like that. 🙂

serves 4

INGREDIENTS

for the veggies…

1 cup roughly chopped carrots (2 carrots)

1 cup roughly chopped celery (2 stalks)

1 cup chopped yellow onion (1/2 large onion)

2 cups halved Brussels sprouts (approx. 10 sprouts)

5-6 sprigs fresh thyme

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

for the chicken stuffing…

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 lemon, cut into thick slices

1 fresh rosemary sprig

5-6 fresh thyme sprigs

1 large garlic clove, sliced

for the chicken rub…

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tbsp ghee + 1 tbsp olive oil

1 whole chicken, approx. 4.5 lbs

for cauliflower puree…

1 head cauliflower (approx. 2 cups florets)

1 1/2 tsp ghee

2 tbsp coconut milk (regular, not non-fat)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

*a roasting rack and butcher’s twine are helpful… if you don’t have twine,

ask the butcher for a piece- they’re always happy to help in my experience!

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Let the chicken sit out for about 30 minutes to come to room-temp.

Meanwhile, roughly chop the onion, celery, and carrots

Slice the stemmy ends off the Brussels sprouts and then halve them

Add all of the veggies to a large roasting pan (lasagna size works well)

and toss them with the salt and pepper (no oil needed since it’s cooking with the chicken)

Add the thyme sprigs

Set aside while you prepare the chicken

Remove the giblets from the chicken cavity (they’re usually in a small bag hiding inside)

Rinse the chicken off, being careful not to get any splashes around the sink area

(contamination can happen more easily than we think!)

Dry the chicken off well, both inside and out- I find good a quality-paper towel works best

Sprinkle the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper

Add the thyme springs, rosemary, garlic, and lemon slices

Mix olive oil and ghee together and rub all over the exterior of the chicken- sprinkle salt, pepper, and

paprika over the chicken and spread the mix around, smothering every nook and cranny

To truss the chicken, use butcher’s twine (about 24 inches) to tie the legs together and tuck the wings in… there are ‘proper’ ways to do this (there are tons of videos online if you’re curious), but the main gist is to wrap the string around the tail area, tying both drumsticks together tightly so they seal the opening. Then, wrap the string around the sides of the chicken to hold the wings in. (While it does make the chicken look tidier and neater, it’s not necessary… your chicken will cook fine if not tied, or if you just tie the drumsticks together only 🙂 )

Lay the roasting rack over the veggies

Set the chicken on the rack, breast side up

Roast the chicken and veggies on the center rack, uncovered, for about 75 minutes (for a 4.5 lb bird)

Thank you, and great question! Honestly, it’s just a time issue. Since I write my recipes with step-by-step photos, my directions are formatted to go with the photos. It takes me a much longer time to do than one might imagine, so by the time I’ve got it all done, I’m just so excited to post it all! Creating a print button requires me to write each recipe out again in print form, which ideally I would do, but I often simply don’t have time. I’d be happy to write one up for this one though if you’d like! It’d be good habit for me to get into anyway 😉 (I work in a school, which means summer’s coming soon, and I’ll have more time to create them for future recipes!) Also, if you copy and paste the recipe into email form or a word doc, just the text will show up- then it can be printed into a hard copy easily! 🙂 Thanks for asking, and I will definitely try to get print format in more often!

I tried this recipe tonight and it was fabulous! My roasting pan was too large so the veggies on one end of the pan dried out but were still good. I have never roasted chicken before so since I started the Whole 30 program last week, I wanted to do something that was not bland. Thank you for the great instructions and recipe. (I didn’t have a rack so I placed the chicken on the vegetables.

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I started Honey, Ghee, & Me in 2012 as a fun way to share my passion for cooking and food. Since, creating recipes has become one of my favorite past times, along with playing in nature, joining the gals for sunny afternoon happy hours, and traveling as far and often as possible! Read More…